


Five Times Adrien Should Have Realised That Marinette is Ladybug and One Time He Actually Did

by Bumblewyn, Drosera_Sundews



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: 5+1 Things, Adrien Agreste Can Talk To Cats, Adrien Agreste Is A Good Bro, Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Collaboration, Cute, Eventual Romance, F/M, Featuring: Plagg as the Unexpected Voice of Reason, First Kiss, Fluff, Funny, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Humor, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Can Talk To Ladybugs, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Has Super Strength, Miraculous Side Effects, Misunderstandings, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Plagg Is a Troll (Miraculous Ladybug), Plagg is all of us, Russian Translation Available (See Notes), Sappy Ending, Shy Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Supportive Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), This Story Wouldn't Have A Plot If Literally Any Of The Characters Had More Than Two Brain Cells, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, school shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-28 22:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21399580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bumblewyn/pseuds/Bumblewyn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drosera_Sundews/pseuds/Drosera_Sundews
Summary: In which Adrien is about as observant as a teaspoon, and Marinette really needs to learn to hide her secret identity.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Comments: 96
Kudos: 822





	1. 1 & 2

**Author's Note:**

> This has been kindly translated into Russian! The translation can be found here: https://ficbook.net/readfic/8953060

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Bumblewyn here. This is a collab fic Drosera_Sundews and I have been working on for a while, and as today is Sundews' birthday, we decided this would be an excellent time to finally post it! :D
> 
> The story is almost complete and will have 5 chapters, which we're aiming to update daily!!! 😊
> 
> This part was beta-read by the lovely Norelica, who continues to go above and beyond ♥

## 1

Adrien had always known that Marinette was clumsy. In fact, it was widely known by everyone, and no one really minded, except perhaps Marinette herself. It wasn’t that she fell or stumbled much more than the average person. It was just that anytime she lost her balance she tried to compensate by swinging her arms around wildly and yelling, which generally only made things worse. 

To be honest, Adrien thought it was kind of endearing. Not anything he’d ever be mean about (not that there was much he’d ever be mean about). But Marinette did seem to be flustered anytime she was caught fumbling or tripping. 

So when one day their lunch break was interrupted by a short but severe bout of rain, and he spotted Marinette slipping on the sidewalk and hitting the ground, he decided to not draw attention to himself. He just wanted to get a little closer to see if she was okay. 

She didn’t seem to notice him, and she got up okay. Adrien smiled and veered off course. He was glad to see that she'd be fine. 

He heard a frustrated groan from behind him and turned. Marinette was on her knees, peering under the car next to her. Oh, her bag!

He’d almost made his way over, ready to help her in some way, he wasn’t sure how yet, when he saw her glance from side to side. Somehow apparently looking right over him, before she got up and put her hands below the car. 

He saw her grimace slightly, pull, and then the car’s wheels came off of the ground. Marinette carefully lifted the car up, tilting it sideways, before awkwardly sticking her foot out and looping it through the handle of her bag, dragging it back to her. 

Once it was within reach, she gently placed the car back on its wheels. 

Adrien gaped, impressed by the surprising display of strength hiding beneath her lithe frame. “Whoa, Marinette! You’re really strong.”

Marinette yelped and jumped almost a meter into the air, her bag once again clattering onto the ground as she turned around. 

“A— A— Adrien!”

“Hi!” He waved, smiling as he swooped down to pick up the shoulder bag and then stood up straight to loop it over her shoulder. “Here, sorry I made you drop it again.” He extended his umbrella a little, standing close so that they were both protected from the rain. 

“What did you get here? I mean— When are you doing here? I mean—” 

Adrien waited patiently while his flustered friend tried to find the right words. It was something he’d become familiar with over the course of their friendship. He was still not entirely sure what caused her stuttering, since he’d also heard her be rather eloquent at times. Through trial and error, however, he’d found that smiling patiently would generally result in a complete sentence eventually.

“I mean— I dropped my car. Bag! Bag. I dropped my bag.” She gestured around wildly between herself and the wet pavement. 

Adrien nodded in understanding. “I saw you slip, are you okay?”

She returned his nod, seemingly relieved for some reason. “Yeah... it was just a small tumble, silly me!” She ducked her head as her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sturdier than I look.”

“I can see that!” Adrien said enthusiastically, still in awe of what he saw her do. “You lifted a whole car! Do you work out? Or is it all the heavy lifting you do in the bakery?” 

“No!” Marinette shouted suddenly, her eyes wide. “I mean, yes! I mean— I— I do karate!” she blurted rather loudly. She was beet-red again, though he had no idea why. Karate wasn’t, like, a silly sport. It was actually really cool. 

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Adrien said enthusiastically, hoping his approval would make her feel less embarrassed. “I didn’t know you could get so strong from karate. Maybe I should try it!” The additional strength would certainly help with his… side-hustle. Being Chat Noir had enhanced his strength, but he figured the stronger he got, the stronger Chat Noir would be! If Adrien Agreste could lift a car, maybe Chat Noir could lift a bus! That’d be wild, not to mention helpful.

Marinette laughed, but judging by her facial expression she might as well have been at the dentist. “Uh, yeah, maybe?” she offered, giving him an uncertain look. 

Did she think he couldn’t do it? As they walked to school together, Adrien was already planning how to convince Natalie to let him join a karate class. He could fit it into his schedule. If Marinette could do it and gain so much strength even though she was a civilian, so could he! And maybe this was his ticket to learning a bit more about his friend and helping her be more comfortable around him.

They walked up the steps and Adrien let Marinette step inside before quickly shaking the rain off his umbrella. He wanted to ask her where she took her karate lessons, and if she would mind introducing him to her teacher, but before he could do so, she squeaked, “See you in class!” and sped off like she was being chased by an akuma. She was so fast, she literally disappeared down the entire hall in the blink of an eye. 

Adrien gaped after her, mildly surprised she hadn’t left a cartoonish trail of dust-clouds in her wake. “Wow,” he muttered to himself. “I need to find myself a karate teacher.”

He could hear faint laughter coming from his breast pocket, but paid it no mind.

## 2

“Plagg, that’s not…” Adrien argued, getting slightly frustrated with his friend. “All the history books say she was beautiful! Maybe they just had different standards back then?” 

“It’s all old Roman propaganda,” Plagg hissed in response. “The people high up there were terrified of Cleopatra. Easier to write her off as some dumb airheaded model — no offense — than to publicly engage with her in intelligent debate and _ lose. _ She was a brilliant strategist. They were right to be afraid!”

Adrien sighed. The argument had been going on for a solid twenty minutes now, and he _ really _needed to study. “Look, Plagg, I believe you, but at the end of the day I just want to pass my history test. I can’t very well argue for a higher grade and cite a primeval cat-god that lives in my room and eats cheese all the time as my source. Besides—” He was cut off by a cheerful voice behind him.

“Hey, Adrien!” 

Adrien’s spine snapped straight and he quickly pulled his button-up shirt closed, squishing Plagg against his chest. He heard a hiss and some grumbling, but gave no attention to it, instead turning to Nino. 

“Hey!” 

“Who where you just talking to?” 

“Oh, uhm… just Natalie, on the phone. I, uh, have some photoshoots next week, which we still need to plan, but I’d rather miss fencing than school, so I’m trying to get her to reschedule it,” he rambled. He didn’t enjoy lying, especially not to Nino, but like any child raised with a strict schedule and even stricter rules, he was more than capable of making up excuses on the fly. 

“Uhm, okay…” Nino looked at him a bit oddly. “And she’s super into ancient Egypt? Ooorrr…?” 

Oof, that didn’t work out the way he had wanted it to. Oh well. “Partly. She used to homeschool me for history and, well, she knows a lot but she disagrees with the books we have for class, says they’re inaccurate and only show one perspective.” 

“Huh, I mean, she’s right.” Nino shrugged. “But let me guess, that doesn’t work out great for your grades?” 

“Not really, but at least that gives me an excuse not to have a photoshoot during school.” 

They entered the classroom. Madame Bustier wasn’t there yet, and the classroom was empty save for one surprising occupant who usually tended to be late rather than early: Marinette. She was standing by the window, her back towards the door, and seemed to be talking to someone. 

Adrien was able to make out some of her words. “… don’t know … barely got to study last night … akuma … when I finally got home … I’m _ so _ going to fail the exam!” Her last sentence was very clearly audible, as she had more or less _ wailed _it. 

Concerned, Adrien walked towards her. “Marinette? Are you okay?”

She jumped and her arms jerked around, though for what, he couldn’t see, given that her back was still turned towards him — had he made her drop something again? He’d feel really bad if he had. 

“Adrien!” she squeaked as she spun around, clutching her purse to her chest. “I was just— I was just— On the mom with my phone! Phone my exam! With my Mom!” she stammered, increasingly frantic. “I was… on the phone with my mom,” she managed finally, her cheeks bright pink.

Adrien reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder, hoping to ground her a bit. “Hey, it’s okay,” he offered gently. “I’m also nervous for the exam. Was she giving you a pep talk?” 

Marinette nodded wordlessly, growing ever pinker in the face. “Ye— yeah…”

Adrien smiled, trying not to show his sadness as he wondered what that must be like. The closest thing he got to a pep talk that morning had been Plagg arguing that the entire French school system should be abolished. “I’m sure you’ll do great. You always do!” he assured her, feeling guilty for interrupting her phone call. 

He hoped she was getting enough oxygen, because her face seemed to be transitioning from pink to purple. “Thank you,” she whimpered, staring up at him with wide eyes. 

Adrien gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze and stepped back, giving her some space to breathe. “I should get to my desk, I want to look over my notes one last time. Good luck today, Marinette!”

Marinette took in a deep breath, visibly collecting herself. Adrien really admired how she seemed to be able to reign her anxieties back in. She shot him a slightly more relaxed smile. “Thank you, Adrien. You as well!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you guys enjoyed this, and are very excited to see you again tomorrow ^_^


	2. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette makes a friend. And another one. And another one. And— Oh, dear…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bonus chapter that isn't part of the 'five times,' but _is_ part of the story. This was mostly written by Drosera_Sundews, and beta-read by Norelica! :D
> 
> Enjoy! ^_^

## Bonus Chapter

_ “Hey, I found a Good Place!” _

Marinette turned and faced the person next to her. Or, well, not a person. A ladybug was clinging to the fence next to where she was walking. Its small voice barely reaching her.

“Uhm,” she looked around. There were quite a few people on the street, but most of them weren’t paying her much mind, bent forward and covering their faces from the early autumn wind. She leaned over towards the ladybug. “You found a good place?” She whispered, unsure whether it could understand her too.

The small beetle shuddered, twitching its antennae in distinct patterns, barely big enough to follow for the human eye. _ “Good Place!” _

“Tikki?” Marinette whispered, opening her purse. The kwami peeked out from inside her bag, rubbing her eyes drowsily but perking up as she spotted the insect. “Oh, did you make a friend, Marinette?”

“I’m not sure,” she turned her attention back to the ladybug.

_ “Follow me to the Good Place!” _ the beetle chirped, before taking off, its small gossamer wings carrying it away from the metal fence, and into the park behind it.

“Are you going to follow it?” Tikki piped up, looking up at her chosen inquisitively.

“I’m not sure,” Marinette said, confused. “I mean, you told me this could happen with Miraculous holders and their, well, their animals? But this is the first time I’ve ever seen a ladybug… communicating?”

Tikki hummed. “Yeah, they don’t do it a lot. Let’s follow it, though. I’m curious to see what they found!”

“All right, sure.”

It was a bit of a hassle, following the ladybug. Its bright red elytra was easily lost among the autumn leaves. Fortunately for Marinette, it did periodically chime up, going on and on about this ‘Good Place’. She wandered through the park, which was thankfully devoid of people. 

Their destination turned out to be near the furthest edge of the park. There was no convenient path, but Marinette, by now immensely curious, managed to make her way through the foliage relatively unscratched.

A large tree stood near the outer wall of the park. Its wide trunk split in two at about eye height and in the crook Marinette spotted a flash of red. She quickly walked up to it.

A small cluster of about twenty ladybugs was sitting in the crook of the tree. A few of them just sat together motionless, wedged into the wood. A few others were still actively crawling around, landing and taking off every now and then and chiming about their ‘Good Place’.

“Tikki, what is this?”

The kwami floated up and landed on her shoulder, peering at the beetles with a small smile on her face. “Aw, they did find a good place! Look Marinette, they’re getting ready to hibernate. Right now they’re trying to gather as many other ladybugs as they can so they can all stay warm together!”

“That’s... surprisingly adorable.”

The kwami turned around, flashing her chosen a bright smile. “Now Marinette, I know it is tempting, but the two of us have a job to do! We can’t just go hibernate and leave Paris to its faith.”

“Eh, okay?”

The kwami smiled wistfully. “Perhaps once Hawkmoth is taken care of, we could.”

“That’s… sure, I’ll keep that in mind,” said Marinette, trying not to be weirded out by the fact that that was apparently an option for them.

“Bye everyone,” Tikki said to the small group of ladybugs. “Good luck with your hibernation and see you next spring!” 

* * *

“It’s called a Loveliness? Really?”

“Hmn-hm,” Tikki hummed, too busy nibbling on her cookie to properly answer.

They’d made it back home only a little later than normal, and definitely not late enough to be suspicious. Marinette, glad to be out of the cold, had taken the opportunity to retreat to her room and do something she probably should have done earlier: she finally did a quick google search on ladybugs.

“So those ladybugs, they weren’t actually speaking, right? Not in like, voices?”

“No, not really.” Tikki swallowed the last bit of her cookie with a satisfied hum, “they use pheromones. But I’m guessing the magic translates that for you, right? That’s what it was like with most of the others.”

“Yeah, I guess it did,” Marinette said, deep in thought. “I remember hearing small voices, but now that I think about it, I can’t remember if the voices were feminine or masculine. So, maybe they weren’t actually speaking.” Marinette frowned. “That is weird.”

“Not much weirder than the other things you do,” Tikki chimed in reasonably.

Marinette shrugged. Tikki had a point, there. “So when I responded, could they understand me?”

“Not your words, but you could communicate in other ways, if you tried. They might be able to pick up on your intentions if you focussed on communicating them”

“Hm, that’s something to try in spring, maybe,” Marinette said, abandoning her computer in favor of aimlessly sorting through her art supplies. “Are they really going to sit in that tree all winter?”

“They’ll be asleep for most of it.” Tikki giggled. “We’re lucky, Marinette! We’re probably the only ladybugs in Paris that have central heating.”  
  
Marinette chuckled. “We’re double lucky, living above a bakery. It’s not just always warm, it also always smells great! Best room in Paris!” 

Tikki hummed. “Really beats where some of my chosen used to hole up.” 

Marinette was just about to ask for clarification on that, always eager to learn about Tikki’s past, when she was interrupted by another voice. Or, she guessed, not actually a voice. 

_ “Oh. You found a Good Place!” _

Tikki and Marinette turned their heads towards the open window simultaneously. A small ladybug was sitting on the windowsill, antennae twitching in the air. _ “Very Good Place!” _

Marinette looked back at Tikki, grinning in delight and confusion. “Did you...?” 

Tikki just shook her head and giggled. 

They spent a few minutes silently watching the ladybug as it flew around her room, crawling across her desk and the wardrobe and seemingly exploring the space. After a while, it flew back to the windowsill, turned to them and proudly proclaimed _ “Best Place!” _before spreading its wings and taking off. 

“Glad to know we have her seal of approval,” Marinette said, finally turning back to organising her art supplies. 

Tikki just smiled knowingly. 

* * *

A few hours later, Marinette was definitely finding out that subconsciously communicating the state of her room to some ladybugs had not been a smart move. She’d better just keep her windows locked in autumn to avoid messes like this in the future. 

“Don’t worry, they’ll settle down somewhere in a pile eventually,” Tikki said, seemingly used to situations like this. 

Marinette looked in despair at the absolutely massive amount of ladybugs coating her ceiling, desk, and also her hair. 

“Tikki, this is incredibly suspicious, you know that right? If my parents see this, I... Well, I guess they won’t _ immediately _think I have a side job as a superhero, but they’ll at the very least suspect something weird is going on.” 

“Your parents are really nice, they always knock before coming in,” Tikki said, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation. 

“Tikki, is there a way to say ‘hide out of sight, my parents are here’, in Ladybug?” 

“Eh…” Tikki looked a little sheepish. “I don’t think you’re that fluent yet, but I’ll give it a shot.” The kwami flew up, and started zipping through the room. _ “Hey everyone, here behind the bulletin board is a Great Place!” _

The effect was immediate, a small flock of ladybugs instantly falling off the ceiling and flying over to the wall. They crawled behind the bulletin board. 

“Oh, that’s a great idea, Tikki. We can fit a lot of them under the bed. And a few could stay in the silk drawer, I won’t be using the light fabrics in winter anyway!” 

* * *

In the end, it took the two of them almost a full hour to hide away what appeared to be every single ladybug in Paris in five different hiding spots around Marinette’s room. The swarm had stubbornly resisted being split up, and hidden ladybugs had eagerly crawled right out of their hiding places each time Tikki offered them a new ‘Great Place’. But in the end they’d managed. The ladybugs had settled down out of sight and Marinette’s room looked, for all intents and purposes, perfectly normal. 

“Phew,” Marinette sighed, collapsing backwards onto her bed. “Another crisis averted.” 

“I know it’s a bit of a hassle, but thank you for not throwing them out, Marinette,” Tikki floated down slowly, landing softly on top of Marinette’s head. “I know I’d hate to be outside in the cold all winter, and I’m sure they feel the same.” 

“It’s fine,” Marinette said, exhausted. “It’s a weird thought that there’s like, fifty ladybugs under the bed right now, but I guess I wouldn’t know they’re there if I hadn’t seen them before.”

“Just make sure not to push on the bulletin board too hard.” 

“Oh, yeah, please help me remember that. I know I’ve gotten much stronger from being Ladybug, even without being transformed. I really don’t want to crush them.” 

“Will do,” Tikki said with a yawn. 

Marinette groggily looked up at the ceiling. “So… once they fall asleep they’ll just stay in place, right? I won’t have to worry about some of them making it into the bakery?” 

“Weeeell…” Tikki mumbled shyly. “Since we have central heating, it won’t get as cold as outside, so… a few of them will wake up every now and then, I think. But we can deal with a few ladybugs flying around sometimes, right?” 

Marinette just groaned and buried her face in her hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Sundews here. I just wanted to hop in to tell you that despite being somewhat anthropomorphized, all facts on ladybugs presented above are biologically accurate. I hope you all found this chapter enjoyable and educational! See you tomorrow :)


	3. 3 & 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien meets his mortal enemy, and falls for Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Bumblewyn here. Thank you all so much for all the lovely comments we've gotten so far ♥ 
> 
> We're super happy that you like our story, and we hope you enjoy today's installment as well :D

## 3

To his grave disappointment, Adrien was not a cat-person. He was not a dog-person either. He was a ‘raised in a strict household that didn’t allow for pet-ownership’ person. Even after he quite literally became a part-time cat-person because of Plagg, he really didn’t have much of a connection with the real-life animal. For a while, at least, he liked to imagine he knew about cats, knew how to live with cats and how they acted. Turns out Plagg, ancient god of Death and Destruction, was not actually a good substitute for a real life animal. Who would have thought. 

Still, Adrien would have felt better if the cats of Paris would at least like him a little. 

Plagg had warned him early on in his superhero career that as a Miraculous holder, he’d gain a greater understanding of his associated animal. Enough to facilitate some simple communication. It was only after he’d been at school for a while that he actually got to put that to the test. After his dad had stopped being _ extremely _ paranoid (and instead became only _ very _paranoid) he had been allowed to visit friends after school, and occasionally wander around Paris on foot and not in a car. 

Turns out cats are territorial. And that Adrien, even when not being Chat Noir, counted as enough of a cat to be a threat to those territories. A very _ big _threat, given both his human size and the power of the cat god that seemed to radiate from his person, if the reactions of the cats he had since encountered were any indication.

Also, unlike his dear friend the God of Destruction, real-life cats could not actually be bribed with the always-present camembert in his pockets. Just his luck. 

One cat in particular seemed to have it out for him, and that was the one that lived somewhere at the square near his school and liked to chill and sunbathe on top of the old stone walls. It was a black cat, ironically, with long wavy fur and a flat face. It had taken one look at him, raised its tail and hackles, hissing in a way that Adrien immediately understood as _“Get off my land, kitten!”_

Adrien turned around, insulted, then quickly turned around again, checking if anyone was close enough to hear him. Then he turned to the cat, putting up his best stern face. “First of all, not a kitten, buddy. Second, my school is here so tough luck!” 

The cat hissed even louder, its fur puffing up.

He heard a soft snicker coming from inside his shirt. “Show him who’s boss, Adrien,” Plagg said.

“What?” 

“Threaten him. Show your dominance! Put your fur and tail up and try to look real big.” 

“Thanks Plagg, great advice as always.” He turned towards the cat, standing straight up and trying to look bigger, despite how silly it made him feel. “Shoo!” He waved his hands at it. 

The cat snarled and swiped at him. Adrien jumped back in surprise as claws raked across the back of his hand. He looked on in shock from the smug looking cat to his own hand, which now had three bright red scratches standing out from the pale skin. The middle one was bleeding a little. He heard Plagg laughing from his breast pocket.

_ “Serves you right!” _ The cat hissed. 

“How… that’s. Rude!” Adrien mumbled, cradling his injured hand close to his chest. 

The school bells rung behind him, and he heard mumbling and footsteps as the few students who’d braved the outside during break headed back in. Reluctantly, he turned around. 

“Hey kid, what are you doing? You can’t just walk off!” Plagg protested. 

“I have to get back inside.” 

“You can’t just walk away now. He’ll think he’s won!” 

_ “Yeah that’s right!”_ The cat hissed from behind him. _ “You’d better run!” _

“Really, Adrien?” Plagg’s voice was dripping with sarcastic disappointment.

“I don’t have time for this,” Adrien muttered, somewhat embarrassed as he looked down at his kwami. 

Plagg rolled his eyes, his paws crossed over his chest. “Okay fine, but don’t come crying to me when this gets you in trouble later.” 

Adrien chuckled. “It won’t. It’s just a cat. What’s he gonna do? Tie my shoelaces together?” He reached the school building and slipped back inside, effectively cutting off his conversation with Plagg. 

He saw his classmates heading up the stairs towards their classroom and followed suit.

Nino was already there, as usual. He greeted his friend and sat down, digging the necessary textbook out of his bag for another round of biology. The first half of the day’s lessons had been a bit hard to follow, but he was hoping it’d get more interesting soon. Nino had evidently given up on that. He was laying on his desk, head on his folded arms, and staring off into space. In front of them, Alya and Marinette were busy looking at Alya’s phone, also not paying attention to the lecture. 

Madame Bustier droned on. Adrien had been right in some regards, the lecture did get more interesting. But as the teacher went into more detail on the carbon cycle until even Adrien, who’d already briefly covered this subject when he was homeschooled, was utterly lost. 

Fifteen minutes in he was barely following the lecture, hanging on with a last scrap of concentration, when Nino suddenly stirred. Lifting his head and focussing his eyes for the first time since the class had started, he leaned forwards to where the girls were still engrossed in Alya’s phone. 

“Marinette,” he whispered. 

Neither of the girls heard them, too busy watching an in depth analysis on the recent akumas Alya had set up on the Ladyblog. 

Adrien, despite having been only briefly distracted, realised that he’d apparently missed some piece of vital information as he, too, now could no longer follow Madame Bustier’s story. Giving up, he turned to his friends. 

“Marinette!” Nino tried again, tapping her on her shoulder this time. She and Alya turned around. “There’s a bug in your hair.” 

“Oh, I…” Marinette reached up, puzzled. “Can you get it?” 

“Here, I’ve got it,” Alya cut in, bodily turning Marinette around. 

The teacher looked over at them briefly, an annoyed look on her face. Adrien immediately sat up straight and smiled brightly at the teacher, trying his best to attract attention away from his friends. 

“I got it,” Alya said, picking something small from Marinette’s hair. 

“Do you need some paper to crush it in?” Nino whispered, already reaching for his notebook.  
  
“Oh, it’s a ladybug.” Alya said, studying the struggling insect in her hands. “I don’t want to crush it.” 

“No, don’t crush it!” Marinette whispered urgently. “That’s bad luck!” 

“I didn’t know you were superstitious,” Alya whispered back, grin on her face. “But, yeah, I won’t go around crushing ladybugs. Especially here in Paris.”

“Oh.” Nino leaned forwards again. “I think there’s another one there, Marinette. Did you walk through a bush or something?”  
  
“Oh, I— yes!” Marinette whispered just a tad too loudly. “I was— I— I fell. On my way to school. Into a rose bush.” Her sudden outburst had earned her a glare from Madame Bustier. Marinette shrank back in on herself. “Oh no…” she whispered, looking at their teacher with wide eyes. 

“Girls, please keep the chatter for after school,” Madame Bustier cut in, well and truly fed up with their interruption of her lesson.

“I’m so sorry! I’m— I just— There’s a bug!” Marinette stammered, shooting upright in her seat and gesturing at her head. “I’m— I’m just going to the bathroom real quick!” she squeaked as she made an awkward sideways lunge, which seemed like just her natural clumsiness, although Adrien _ did _spot her quickly swiping the ladybug from Alya’s open palm. “Be right back!” 

She darted towards the door, Madame Bustier frowning disapprovingly but then continuing her lesson with a sigh nonetheless. Adrien, who was still paying attention to his friend rather than the teacher, only just caught her whispering something into her folded palms as she darted out of the door. 

Her voice was soft, and far away, but somehow he was able to make out her words clear as day. “Girls, we talked about this!” 

What a strange thing to say, Adrien mused, before falling back into a trance as the rest of the lesson slipped by. 

## 4

Adrien didn’t mind being a model. Sure, the work was often tiring and required him to be pulled out of school once or twice a week. But he was good at it, and as long as he continued to perform well, his father was less likely to be upset about other matters. Such as him attending public school, or visiting his friends outside school hours. 

It didn’t matter that some days he had to get up at three in the morning for an early shoot at the other side of the city, or didn’t have time to finish his homework because he was at a fashion show until after midnight. It didn’t even matter that he was occasionally late to fight akumatized villains as Chat Noir. Because, in the end, doing well at modelling granted him freedom. And his freedom meant the world to him. Quite literally.

His modeling work did, on the other hand, mean that he was now having difficulty keeping his eyes open as he made his way to the classroom. He’d had a late-night press event for _ Gabriel Fashion _ the previous evening, followed by several interviews. He’d kept himself awake with plenty of coffee, which had worked great. So great, in fact, that he’d been unable to fall asleep once he got home.

Yawning, he opened the door to the classroom. He didn’t notice the bag once of his classmates had carelessly dumped on the floor right behind the door. Not until his ankle got caught by the shoulder strap and the sudden tug sent him tumbling onto his face— 

Into someone’s arms?

Blinking owlishly, he looked up at none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who he could have _ sworn _ was standing by the window with Alya, ten meters away, not half a second earlier. Then again, he was pretty tired, so perhaps he was mistaken.

“A— A— Adrien!” Marinette stammered, her cheeks flushed pink.

Adrien realised he was still holding onto her and quickly untangled his foot from the bag still on the floor. Once he was steady on his feet again, he let go of her, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Thank you for catching me!”

His father would certainly have been displeased if he’d gotten his face bruised in some way.

Marinette’s blush didn’t go away, however. In fact, her face became even more red after he stepped back. “It’s a real problem. I mean— Not a really problem! It’s… not a problem, really!” she squeaked, staring up at him with wide eyes.

“How did you get here so fast?” Adrien wondered aloud. Alya was indeed standing by the window, as he’d thought, and Marinette’s backpack was by the widow as well. “I thought for sure I’d fall on my face.”

Marinette’s face suddenly drained of colour, the blush disappearing so fast it made him wonder if he’d seen it right at all. Maybe the tiredness was getting to him more than he’d thought.

“I— I’m— faster than you’d think?” she answered, though it sounded more like a question.

Suddenly, understanding clicked in Adrien’s head. “Oh, it’s because of your karate!” he realised aloud. 

Marinette immediately shook her head, looking over her shoulder at Alya as if she was nervous about something. “Uhm, I— Karate? Oh, yes, my karate. That I definitely do,” she stammered.

Of course, now he remembered. She was embarrassed about the karate for some reason. She really shouldn’t be, though. “Seriously, thank you for catching me,” Adrien said sincerely, reaching out to lay his hand on her shoulder. He wished he could help her feel less insecure about herself, so the least he could do was let her know how grateful he was. “I’m lucky to have such a great karate master as a friend!” 

“O— Okay,” Marinette whispered, still staring up at him as if in shock. “I’m friend to lucky you too— lucky to be karate— uh, I mean—”

Marinette’s answer was interrupted by Madame Bustier, who walked into the classroom and immediately started lecturing the class about leaving their bags laying around where people could easily trip on them. 

Before Adrien knew it, Marinette had run away from him to grab her bag. Shrugging, he also turned around to sit down. He’d thank her again another time. Perhaps if he just kept letting her know how cool it was that she did karate, she’d become less shy about it?

“Karate really is like magic,” he muttered to himself, resolving to ask his father if he could start doing karate too.

He could hear a faint sound of laughter coming from inside his shirt, accompanied by a light vibrating feeling that indicated Plagg was cracking up about something. The kwami, an _ actual magic creature, _probably thought it silly that he’d ascribe such qualities to a sport. 

With a roll of his eyes, Adrien ignored his friend. He’d definitely learn karate soon and show Plagg just how amazing it was! He’d be the one laughing, then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all tomorrow for another bonus chapter! ^_^


	4. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette basks in the afterglow of catching Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly written by Bumblewyn, and beta-read by the invaluable Norelica, who keeps my hopes and dreams alive <3

##  Bonus Chapter

“So,” Alya said as soon as they sat down on their bench, shooting Marinette a  _ very _ meaningful look. “You want to tell me what that is all about?”

Marinette tried to appear as invisible as possible, hiding behind her bag as she hastily got out her stuff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied. Badly. And then promptly dropped her pencil case on the floor. 

With trembling fingers and burning hot cheeks, Marinette ducked underneath their shared desk to gather the scattered utensils. Alya didn’t hesitate to kneel down next to her under the guise of ‘helping’. 

“You don’t do karate,” Alya whispered, raising one challenging eyebrow at Marinette.

Marinette’s eyes widened, and she risked a quick glance over the edge of her desk to see if Adrien had heard anything. Thankfully, he appeared to be blissfully unaware, his attention fixed on the chalkboard as Madame Bustier jotted down instructions for their next assignment.

She ducked back underneath the desk and forcefully mimed a zipping motion across her lips. 

Alya merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“This is another one of those awkward Adrien situations where you got flustered and he made assumptions, isn’t it?” she whispered dryly.

Marinette winced, briefly halting her pen-collecting to shoot Alya a hurt look. Her friend was wrong, of course, but she also gave Marinette a perfect way out that didn’t involve confessing her secret identity. She’d just have to roll with it.

“Kind of, yeah…” she whispered back. “But I can’t tell him that  _ now! _ He’s gotten really invested in karate.”

Alya snorted with laughter, prompting Madame Bustier to call out their names warningly. 

Marinette quickly grabbed the last of her pens and climbed back onto her seat, blushing fiercely. “Sorry! I dropped my pencil case,” she said, trying to appear as innocent as possible. Thankfully, she had been getting a lot of practice with appearing innocent lately. “Alya was helping me.”

“Well, I hope Alya can also help you pay attention to the rest of the lesson, though I fear it may not be as hilarious as picking up your pencils,” Madame Bustier said with a slightly put-upon glare at both of them, clearly not entirely believing her excuse. 

Marinette and Alya nodded, relieved to get off with only a warning, and hastily began to take notes. 

For the rest of the lesson, however, all Marinette could think of was the feeling of holding Adrien close in her arms, and the warm sensation of his hand on her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit of a shorter one, but the finale starts now!!! We're both unexpectedly busier with university work than we'd hoped, so while we'd planned to post 5 and +1 tomorrow, we _may_ need to post it later this weekend instead, so please don't be too disappointed if we don't manage to update tomorrow <3


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which revenge is had and Adrien loses his lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, Sundews here! I'm posting the chapter today because sometimes you just need to take responsibility in your life. Also Bee is trapped beneath a cat. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much, dear people, for the overwhelmingly positive responses to this story. Personally, I'm just blown away by all the sweet comments. Y'all are the best! 
> 
> We decided to split chapter 5 and +1 because it was getting long. So the final chapter will be posted this weekend, see you then.
> 
> **Content warning:** This chapter contains mentions of semi-forced dieting and being hungry. If this is something you don't want to read, this chapter can be skipped <3

## 5

It was a dreary Thursday morning and Adrien was late. Very, _ very _late.

It wasn't his fault! There had been an akumatized bus driver right in front of his school at the start of the school day, and the fight had taken him and Ladybug all the way across the city. So far out, in fact, that it had taken him twenty minutes of all-out sprinting just to make it back in time for lunch.

Thankfully – thanks to Plagg, really – he was a remarkably fast runner.

In the end, it hadn’t worked out too bad. Classes were put on hold whenever there was an active akuma attack close to the school. Of course, students _ were _still expected to wait out the attack nearby, so someone might notice he’d been away a little longer than could reasonably be excused… Then again, if he just showed up to class after the lunch break, it was likely that nobody would realise he’d been missing beforehand. Plus, the delay had given him some precious time to drop by the bakery and get himself a little something extra for lunch. 

He opened his bag and stared down at the croissants he’d bought. He still couldn’t help but feel guilty over doing this. He’d been on a strict diet for the majority of his teenage years now, to maintain the physique required for modelling. He’d never minded, really. He was used to it and would gladly follow his dad’s rules for the sake of the company. Then again, like many things, that had changed once he’d taken up his side gig as a superhero. 

It hadn’t been immediate, but after only a few weeks of being Chat Noir, his appetite had started ramping up drastically, which meant he’d started feeling almost permanently hungry. 

Plagg had told him it was because of all the calories he burned while working as Chat Noir, but he couldn't exactly tell his dietician that. So now the poor lady was struggling to keep his weight stable while still keeping to a reasonable calorie-count for an up-and-coming model, and continued to be puzzled by his increasing muscle mass visit after visit. 

She'd even made him go through a whole battery of tests to check if there was something wrong with his metabolism and hormone levels. Thankfully, all the tests had come back perfectly normal. Unfortunately, that still left Adrien with salads as a meal twice a day. 

He’d had to employ some strange strategies in order to still get the calories he needed. Occasionally, he had been forced to dip into the constant supply of camembert that belonged to Plagg (which neither of them enjoyed). Other times, he had snuck down to the kitchen in the dead of night, aided by his night vision. He also spent the odd afternoon binging down in the cafe right after his fencing lessons before Gorilla came to pick him up. And whenever he inevitably had to run back to school after an akuma attack, he dropped by the bakery to stuff his bag full of precious, _ precious _ carbohydrates.

Still, it was tricky. Not just for himself, breaking the rules he’d lived by for years, and hiding it not just from his dad and the staff, but also from everyone else who knew he had to keep a strict diet. Which, in practice, was pretty much his whole school… 

Which is why, instead of hurrying inside to spend what little remained of his lunch break with his friends, Adrien headed for small bench in a secluded corner of the square in front of his school to hastily scarf down his croissants where no-one would see. 

Temporarily distracted as he looked around to double-check if any of the people near the square were paying attention to him, he almost didn’t notice the small tug at his hand. He _ definitely _noticed it, however, when his bag of croissants was rudely pulled out of his grip. 

“Hey!” He looked down. A few feet in front of him was the black, long-haired cat. Standing proudly and looking straight at him with the bag of croissants dangling from its mouth. 

For a moment, they stared at each other in silence. Then, the cat swished its tail tauntingly and took off running. 

“Wait, give that back!” Adrien shouted as he gave chase to the cat.

He ran after the creature for a minute, all the while looking around nervously for fear of being spotted. The cat seemed to be enjoying itself, ducking under benches and jumping over fences to shake of its larger pursuer. Adrien was sure that if it hadn’t been for his enhanced ability, he would not have been able to keep up with it at all. 

Eventually, the cat paused at the edge of the road, turning to him. Momentarily relieved, Adrien slowed down to a jog.

“Oh, thank you,” he said, pleasantly surprised.

He carefully approached it, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. He knelt down in front of it and very carefully grasped the edge of the paper bag. 

Despite the paper clamped between its teeth, the cat somehow managed to grin. _ "Boy, you wish!” _

It bolted suddenly, ripping the paper bag in the process. Adrien tried his best to grab hold of it, but was too late.All his croissants had come spilling out, rolling away over the muddy sidewalk. 

“Are you serious!?” Adrien yelled in dismay. He looked around, trying to find if any part of his lunch was still salvageable. 

He heard a self satisfied meow above him and looked up. The cat was perched halfway up a tree nearby, the remains of the paper bag dangling on the branches. It was happily munching away on what seemed to be the only remaining dry croissant of the batch. 

Adrien send it a furious glare and stared at the soggy bread on the ground. His stomach grumbled viciously and he almost considered just eating them despite all the dirt, but the longer he looked at the croissants, the more certain he became that he wouldn’t be able to stomach the soggy, muddy messes they had become anyway.

Sullenly, he turned around and made his way back to the school. 

“Told you that would come back to haunt you,” Plagg chimed in from underneath his shirt, not sounding all that sorry for him. 

Adrien shook his head, crestfallen. “Now all I have left for lunch is my salad…”

Plagg sighed. “Just this once, I’ll share my camembert with you, because you’re such a pitiful kitten. But next time, assert your dominance when I tell you.”

Hugging his bag to his chest, Adrien turned back to walk to school. “I don't want to assert my dominance,” he grumbled. “And I don’t want camembert… I just want to be friends, or otherwise be left alone…”

“You wuss,” chuckled Plagg, as he disappeared back into Adrien's shirt.

  


* * *

  


By the time he reached the school, the lunch break was still in full swing. Despite having now officially missed half of the school day, Adrien couldn't help but feel relieved. At least now he wouldn't have to walk in late in front of everyone while making bad excuses for his absence.

He made his way to the cafeteria and quickly spotted Alya, Nino and Marinette. He smoothly joined them at their table, vaguely alluding to a non-existent photoshoot to excuse his tardiness. 

“Your dad really works you way too hard, my dude,” Nino said with a hint of concern on his face.

“It's not so bad, really!” Adrien said, quick to come to his father's defense, especially since his lateness that day had nothing to do with him. “I enjoy modelling!” he insisted, elatedly scratching the back of his neck. 

“Enjoyment aside, you _ do _miss out on a lot of school,” Alya chimed in. “It's impressive that you're able to keep your grades up, with how often you're late.”

“Adrien is very smart!” Marinette blurted, and then immediately turned bright red when Adrien smiled at her. “I mean! You— Good grades— Uhm… Food!” she stammered, and then bolted towards the now dwindling line of students waiting for their meals.

“That girl,” muttered Alya close to Nino, her voice so soft that Adrien felt that he _ almost _shouldn't have been able to understand her as well as he did. “Honestly.” 

“You're preaching to the choir, love,” Nino whispered back.

Adrien frowned, uncertain why his friends were being so critical of Marinette. By now, they should know her better than that. “Don't be mean, guys, can't help it that she stutters sometimes.” 

Alya and Nino startled, staring at him as if they hadn't been gossipping _ right next to him _where he could clearly hear their voices.

“What? It's true. You've known her longer than I have, too,” he said with a disapproving frown. 

“That's not—” Nino started, but stopped when Alya elbowed him in the ribs.

“No, you're right, sorry,” Alya said. “I meant it more in an affectionate way.”

Adrien breathed a slightly embarrassed sight of relief. “Oh, okay. Sorry.” Of course Alya had meant it affectionately, she and Marinette were very close, after all.

Adrien quickly leaned sideways. After the fight with the akuma, not to mention the chase with the cat, he was hungrier than ever. He rifled through his bag and fished out the salad the cook had prepared for him that morning. It was very meager, especially compared to the croissants he could have had, but it was still better than nothing. 

Just as Adrien started picking at his salad, Marinette rejoined the table with one, but _ two _trays piled with food, which she placed in front of her a bit sheepishly. 

“Gosh, I'm starving!” she exclaimed as she immediately dug in with gusto.

Adrien eyed her plates (plate**s**!) with slight jealousy from behind his dietician-mandated salad. 

Alya was staring at Marinette's lunch too, although her face held no jealousy, only surprise. “Uhm, I can see that?” she said, sounding slightly confused, at the same time that Nino muttered an impressed-sounding, “Whoa…” 

Marinette blushed, but didn't slow down her eating. “I, uhm, exercised this morning. Before school.”

“Oh, is that why you were so late?” Alya asked, curious now. “What _ were _you doing, anyway?”

Marinette's blush deepened, and she stuffed a large forkful of food into her mouth in favour of answering, shrugging while she motioned to her chewing face as if to say _ ‘Sorry, can't answer.’ _

Suddenly, it clicked, and Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, were you at your karate class? With how good you are at that, you must have worked up an appetite.” 

It made perfect sense, if everything he did as Chat Noir made him more hungry than usual, certainly a normal human like Marinette would get similarly hungry from such intense exercise.

“Karate class?” Nino asked, puzzled. “I didn't know you did karate, Marinette. That's so cool!”

Marinette stared at the three of them like a deer in the headlights, swallowing thickly. “Uhm, I— uhm—”

“Yes, Marinette is amazing at karate!” Alya said with a stern look in Nino's direction. “But she doesn't want everyone to know she does it, so please don't tell anyone else,” she added with an equally stern look at Adrien.

“Oh, sorry, I didn't know that,” Adrien said, embarrassed. He hadn't meant to spread a friend's secret, even _ if _he felt like it was a strange thing to keep secret. It wasn't up to him to decide what secrets were strange, after all. (Especially since he had a pretty big secret himself.) “It's really cool, though,” he said with another encouraging smile to Marinette. “You don't have to be embarrassed about it.”

Marinette ducked her head over her plate. “Oh, uhm… thank you, that's very say of you to nice— I mean— nice of you to say,” she muttered, and then hastily continued eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bee here, I very, very, _very_ gently nudged the kitty away... ([Time-lapse of the past half hour of my life,](https://imgur.com/a/vHHDxSf) I know those look like identical photos but the clock speaks for its blurry self.)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It really was a labour of love. The next chapter will be the final one!
> 
>   
**Also, Sundews isn't caught up with season 3 yet, so please keep the comments spoiler free! ♥**  



	6. +1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien finds out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Bumblewyn here. We're super duper proud of what we made here and really hope you love it just as much as we do ♥
> 
> Thank you all so much for your amazing comments along this journey, you sure as hell kept us _very_ motivated to keep on writing ^_^
> 
> Without further ado: enjoy the final installment of our story! :D

## +1

“I swear, just one lesson! And I was able to lift Chloé's limo off it's back wheels!” Adrien said enthusiastically, though with a hushed voice, given that they were sitting in the library. “I can't wait to see what I can do after more lessons. Do you think a karate master could lift a bus?”

Nino was staring at him in silence, his mouth hanging open like it had been ever since Adrien started talking about the amazing results of his karate class. “Dude,” he finally muttered. “I love you, but you've _ gotta _stop flexing.”

Adrien frowned at his friend. “What do you mean? I'm not flexing.” He glances down at his biceps. Could it be that the karate has already made his muscles so much bigger that they're straining his shirt? But, no, he couldn't see a difference.

“Dude, not _ literally!” _ Nino exclaimed with a laugh. “I mean, _ flexing, _you know. Showing off. Exaggerating. Trying to impress people. Or in your case, making shit up.” Nino shook his head, as if disappointed. “I don't know what got into your head, but you've gotta tone it down with the insane karate stories.”

“What?” Adrien's frown deepened. Why did Nino not believe him? “I'm not making it up! I started my karate lessons last week and—”

“And now you can lift a car, yes, I heard you the first three times,” Nino said with a roll of his eyes. “Listen, I don't know what you're playing at, but if you're doing this to start rumours to woo some girl or something… just… tone it down, okay? Literally nobody believes you.”

“But I _ can _ lift a car! And Marinette— ouch!” Adrien yelped, grasping at his chest and wincing. The sharp stinging pain subsided. Shocked, Adrien realised Plagg had just _ bitten _ him. “What the hell?” he wondered aloud.

“Adrien? Are you okay?” Nino asked in alarm, looking seriously worried as he reached out for Adrien's arm. “What's happening?” 

People at the tables around them were starting to look at them now, some glaring due to the ruckus they were causing in the library.

Adrien quickly raised his hands, batting away Nino's hand on his arm. “I'm fine! I'm fine! Don't worry!” he hastily assured his friend. “I just had a— a— shaving incident—”

“On your chest?” Nino asked incredulously. “You're _ fourteen!” _

Adrien's face flushed red when he realised how bad that excuse had been. Nevertheless, he didn't have a choice but to double down now. He couldn't exactly tell his friend he had an overly aggressive kwami in his breast pocket. 

“Yeah, you know… modelling and all.” He quickly began to shove his books and notebooks into his bag as he spoke, eager to get out of the library and ask Plagg what the hell he was thinking, biting him like that. “The things we do for our dreams! Gotta go, uhm, check on that. Make sure I'm not bleeding to death and stuff!” 

He slung his bag over his shoulder and sped off in the direction of the restrooms before Nino could stop him. 

* * *

“Plagg, what the hell?” Adrien hissed once he was safely hidden away in a bathroom stall.

The little black Cat God flew out of his shirt pocket and hovered in front of Adrien. “I needed you to stop talking,” he said in lieu of an actual explanation, his paws planted in his sides as he sternly looked down at Adrien.

“Why?” Adrien asked, slightly annoyed by his friend's odd behaviour. He knew Plagg could be a little unpredictable at times, but he'd never _ hurt _him before. “Nino was calling me a liar! Can't I defend myself?”

Plagg sighed, rubbing his forehead with his paw as if he were suffering a migraine. “Listen, I don't know how else to tell you this, but you've _ got _ to stop telling people you can lift cars. You can only do that _ because you're Chat Noir.” _

Adrien frowned. “Well, that doesn't make sense. Marinette can do it too! I saw her do it! And _she's _not Chat Noir.” 

He had no idea why his kwami was being so unreasonable all of a sudden. He hadn't even been trying to show off, like Nino had seemed to think. He was just proud of his accomplishment!

Plagg, however, didn't seem to be very proud of him. In fact, he just groaned. Loudly. “That's right,” he said emphatically, shooting Adrien a meaningful look. “She's _ not _Chat Noir.”

Adrien stared up at him, thoroughly confused. 

What was the kwami saying? Marinette wasn't Chat Noir? Adrien already _ knew _that. So why was Plagg giving him such a meaningful look?

He replayed the conversation in his head, hoping to catch something he'd missed the first time. Plagg had bitten him when he had been about to tell Nino he wasn't lying, and that Marinette could lift cars as well. Plagg had then said that he, Adrien, could only do those things because he was Chat Noir… But clearly Marinette _ wasn't _Chat Noir.

The problem suddenly clicked into his brain like a math equation.

Adrien can lift cars = because he is Chat Noir

Marinette can lift cars ≠ because she is Chat Noir

Marinette can lift cars = because she is _ x _

All he had to do was solve for _ x. _

Realisation washed over him like a bucket of ice. Instantly, his mouth felt dry. “Plagg,” he asked, his voice wavering from sheer panic as he looked at the kwami with wide eyes. “Is Marinette…” He swallowed, almost too scared to ask. Too scared to be wrong. What would he even feel? Would he be upset? Disappointed? Did he think it was true, or did he only _ want _ it to be? He squeezed his eyes shut and forced the question out; now that he suspected… he _ had _to know. “Is Marinette… Ladybug?”

Plagg wrung his paws together as if he were anxious, which was a silly thought, because Plagg was probably the most carefree being Adrien knew.

Finally, Plagg said, “I'm sorry, Adrien, I can't tell you that.” For once, the kwami's voice was on the edge of sounding serious. “All I can say is… don't tell people you can lift cars. Either of you.” 

He gave Adrien a consoling pat on his shoulder and then, with one last apologetic look, disappeared back into Adrien's shirt pocket, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Adrien stumbled out of the bathroom stall as if he were in a trance, and more or less collapsed against the sink. He stared down at his own hands, gripping the edge of the porcelain so hard that his knuckles had gone almost completely white. Letting out a choked noise, his eyes flicked up, meeting his own wide open stare in the mirror. 

There was no way. No way!

…Right? 

Out of all the people in Paris? Could his friend and classmate Marinette be Ladybug? No. No, that was ridiculous! What even were the chances?

He tried to remember if he had ever seen anyone else lift a car. Nino couldn’t be right, could he? Certainly it wasn't such an inhuman feat as his friend was imagining?

Adrien was reasonably certain that Gorilla had lifted a car at some point. But was he a good example of an average Parisian? He had to be at least ten times as big as Marinette, it wasn’t exactly a fair comparison. 

Marinette and Ladybug did look alike. They had the same hair colour, and were similar in height. But just because Ladybug looked like Marinette didn't mean they were the same person! He himself didn’t look a lot like Chat Noir! His hair was slightly longer, for one, and styled differently, and then there was the issue of his catlike slitted eyes! He'd kind of been expecting Ladybug to look different as a civilian as well.

He also behaved differently when he was Chat Noir, compared to when he was Adrien Agreste. He’d been kind of bracing himself for the fact that perhaps, if he were to ever meet Ladybug as a civilian, she would be different, just like he was. There was something thing about wearing a costume and being unrecognisable that just amplified parts of his personality that he’d barely known he _ had _before becoming a superhero. 

Being Chat Noir allowed him so much freedom in how he behaved. He could openly flirt, make outrageous puns, and do goofy things that could otherwise have tarnished his reputation or incited his father’s wrath.

Ladybug didn't really make the same kind of use of her superhero identity. Between the two of them, she tended to be the more serious one. She took charge during fights and made plans. She called the shots and he was always glad to follow her lead. He knew he could trust her judgement. She was just like that, a natural born leader, much more than he could ever hope to be. 

She was…

Shit. 

She really was a lot like a more confident version of Marinette. 

* * *

Adrien barely remembered leaving the bathrooms and making it back to class. His head was spinning, trying to come to terms with the realisation he'd come to. He surely didn’t remember class starting, and barely even registered what the topic was. 

Not until he was abruptly pulled out of his anxious trance by Nino tapping his shoulder. 

“Hey dude, you alright? You’re looking kind of pale,” Nino whispered, concern clear on his face.

Adrien just stared at him in stunned silence. 

“You didn’t actually, like, _ super _injure yourself while shaving, right?” Nino asked when he didn't respond. “Do you need to see a doctor?”

Adrien chuckled a little and shook his head before going back to staring off into the distance, his eyes roughly aimed at the blackboard in front of them. 

“I’m an idiot Nino. I’m a really big idiot,” he confessed. 

Nino nodded and patted him on the back consolingly. 

“You’re not an idiot. Just a little dense sometimes.” He paused for a second, seemingly in thought. “..._ Very _dense, sometimes. Let’s blame it on your upbringing. Don’t worry buddy, everyone still loves you regardless!”

Adrien barely registered his friend's words, too tangled up in his own thoughts. 

Marinette was Ladybug. _ Marinette _ was _ Ladybug! _

Marinette, one of his best friends, was also Ladybug, the love of his life.

He had to tell her. _ Both _of her.

* * *

Dazed as he was, Adrien didn't actually get to tell Marinette that day at school. 

That evening, he felt restless. He considered going to see her the next day. It would be a Saturday, so they didn't have school, and he could visit her at the bakery and confess his feelings for both her and Ladybug.

Except… he simply couldn't wait. From the tips of his toes to the points of his ears, he was all but shaking with the need to tell her what he knew. And that he loved her. Had loved her, apparently, for almost a year now.

Hadn't he waited long enough?

“Plagg, I'm going to do it,” he decided out loud, jumping up from the edge of his couch. “Claws out!”

“Good luuuuuuuuuck—” Plagg yelped as he was dragged into the ring. 

Full of giddy confidence, Chat Noir leapt out of the window. He was going to see his Lady and he had a feeling that this time, his feelings might just be reciprocated.

“Knock, knock,” he said as he poked his head through Marinette's open trap door, slightly breathless from his fastest trek across Paris’ rooftops thus far.

Marinette was sitting at her sewing machine, working on a garment of some sort. When she heard his voice, however, she looked up. With a surprised smile on her face, she stopped sewing to wave at him. “Chat Noir! To what do I owe the pleasure?” She got up from her stool and quickly climbed up the stairs to her bed to meet him on the rooftop balcony. 

Chat offered her a hand to help her up, which she graciously took, letting him pull her up the last meter.

Suddenly, she was standing _ very _close to him, and Chat could feel his cheeks flush with what he knew had to be a deep red blush. He quickly let go of her hand, rubbing the back of his neck as he took a step back.

“Uhm, hi, my— Marinette,” he stammered, his confidence from before wavering slightly now that he was face to face with her. Still, he wanted to do this! Steeling himself, he swallowed and smiled at her, dropping his arm to his side. “It's good to see you.”

“It's good to see you, too,” Marinette said with a friendly smile. “Though I must ask, why are you here?”

“Oh, you know, to _ chat,” _Chat said, grinning mischievously, unable to help himself. 

Marinette rolled her eyes, lightly swatting at his arm. “You're incorrigible,” she told him, though he was pretty certain he spotted a slightly amused twinkling in her eyes.

_ She'd know all about that, _ he realised belatedly, his grin softening into a more gentle smile. “Come sit with me?” he asked, gesturing to her pink lawn chair.

It wasn't quite big enough for the two of them, but Marinette was small and Chat Noir, while athletic, wasn't that broad just yet, so they managed to squish themselves in it, their sides pressed closely against each other. 

“I need to talk to you,” Chat said after a moment of silence, nervously fiddling with his wrist cuffs. 

“Oh, okay,” Marinette said hesitantly. Chat glanced at her just in time to see her worrying at her bottom lip. “What's— uhm, what's the matter?” she asked.

Knowing the fact that she was Ladybug, he suddenly understood her nervousness. While she couldn't have _ known, _it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility for her to be concerned he might have found something out. He didn't enjoy seeing her so anxious, though. It would probably be best if he just went and said it.

He took a deep breath. “I know who you are,” he confessed, and then quickly continued before she could interrupt him, “and I want you to know who I am, too.” 

Before he could hesitate or back out, he closed his eyes and whispered, “Plagg, claws in.”

At first, soft gasp by his side was all he heard. Anxiously holding his breath, he waited. When no other reaction came, he finally breathed, opened his eyes and looked at her.

Her eyes were big as saucers and her hands, which were clasped over her lips, trembled.

He tried for an awkward wave, smiling at her. “Hi, Marinette,” he said softly.

“A— A— _ Adrien!” _she whispered breathlessly. She reached out and touched his arm, as if to check if he were really there. “It's you? You're— Chat Noir? Oh my god.” She shook her head as if to clear it from an overload of thoughts.

“Yup,” he said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle. “I hope that's not… disappointing.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Marinette squawked. “Of course not! This— you—” She ducked her head, blushing, and pulled her arm away. It didn't change much, they were still sitting rather close to each other, which, oops. Adrien probably should have rethought their sitting arrangement before transforming back. 

Marinette shook her head once more and looked down at her hands in her lap. “I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in, but—” She hesitated, then looked up at him. “I'm… glad. I'm glad it's you. I'm glad it's… _ been you.” _She stared off into the distance. “Wow. It's been you all along, hasn't it?” 

It didn't seem like the kind of question that really required an answer, but Adrien nodded nonetheless. “And you. I… only realised today,” he confessed. “But I'm glad as well. At first I was surprised, but then when I thought about it some more…” He shrugged. “Well, you've always been my everyday Ladybug,” he said with a smile. “I guess I just never realised you're also my superhero Ladybug. Until today, that is.” 

Marinette blushed, turning slightly to look at him. “Am I?” she whispered. 

Adrien blinked, his mouth suddenly dry as he looked her in the eyes. “Are you what?” he whispered back, his heart hammering in his chest as if he were running a marathon.

_ “Your _Ladybug,” Marinette mumbled, her eyes nervously flitting away from his, but then back again to catch his reaction.

“I'm— uhm—” Adrien swallowed. Was she asking what he thought she was asking? Could he be _ that _lucky? “If… if you want,” he said. “I'd love for you to be my Marinette as well.”

Marinette's lips parted slightly in a silent gasp, her eyes widening just a fraction as she looked at him. 

Adrien wondered if her heart was racing just as fast as his was. 

“I think… that would make me very happy,” Marinette said eventually, still blushing. 

Adrien smiled and reached out to cup her cheek. “Good,” he said, his earlier giddy confidence returning to his voice. “Because that's what I want most of all.” 

He leaned forward slowly, looking at her through half-lidded eyes. 

Gosh, she was beautiful, illuminated by the slowly setting autumn sun. Beautiful and brave and strong. Being with her made him feel alive. Made him feel _ safe. _He really was the luckiest person in Paris.

She leaned in, meeting him halfway. 

Her lips were soft and warm and tasted like sugar. Adrien instantly knew he was going to be addicted to that taste; if he wasn't already. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and she did the same.

It could have been days later when they finally parted. He wouldn't have known.

Slightly dazed, they smiled at each other, their foreheads resting together.

“Finally! That took you long enough!”

Adrien pulled away from Marinette, glaring over her shoulder at Plagg. What he saw, however, stunned him.

From the opening of the trap door were not just Plagg and Tikki, but also what could only be described as a _ horde _of actual, real-life Ladybugs, all watching them kiss. 

“What the hell?” he muttered, now more baffled than annoyed.

“What?” Marinette asked, turning around. She gasped when she saw their audience. “Ladies!” she cried, scandalised. 

The ladybugs instantly scattered, scurrying back down the stairs. Both kwamis quickly followed behind, Plagg audibly snickering.

“We're going to have a talk about this!” Marinette called after them, a displeased frown on her face. Abruptly, she turned back to Adrien, blushing fiercely. “I'm _ so _sorry about that,” she apologised. 

Adrien chuckled elatedly. “It's no problem, really,” he said, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “I'm under no illusion that our lives are ever going to be, well… what others would consider ‘normal’.”

Marinette laughed, looking slightly abashed. “I guess,” she admitted with a happy smile.

“So,” Adrien began, returning her smile. “Now that our audience has left… how do you feel about trying that again?”

“You know?” Marinette said playfully, some of her Ladybug-like confidence coming to the surface. “I rather think I'd enjoy that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed this final chapter! :D
> 
> **Please keep in mind that Sundews hasn't watched season 3 yet, so we'd appreciate it if there were no spoilers in the comments :)**
> 
> With that said, enjoy a season 3 inspired alternate ending ;)
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Alternate Ending: The Sixth Time**
> 
> * * *
> 
> Plagg groaned. Loudly. “That's right,” he said emphatically, shooting Adrien a meaningful look. “She's _not_ Chat Noir.”
> 
> Adrien stared up at him, thoroughly confused. Then, it suddenly hit him. He couldn't believe he had been such an idiot! “Of course!” he exclaimed. “She's Multimouse! I can't believe I forgot.” 
> 
> He laughed to himself. “I should probably visit her as Chat Noir and explain what's happening to her,” he told Plagg as he exited the stall. “She must be so confused…”
> 
> Plagg facepalmed and flew back into Adrien's shirt pocket, wondering just how he could have picked such an oblivious Chat Noir. 
> 
> Plagg was pretty certain that Marinette could slam into Adrien's bedroom window as Ladybug, transform while slowly sliding down, and all Adrien would do would be congratulating her on her amazing cosplay.
> 
> Honestly, the suffering Plagg went through for his chosen one’s sake was a real sacrifice.


End file.
